Zayn Malik publishes letter to Liam Payne: ‘I never thanked you for supporting me in difficult times’

After Louis, Zayn Malik was the second member of One Direction to publish a tribute to Liam Payne, who died last Wednesday (17) at the age of 31. The British singer said he never got the chance to thank his friend for his support, but made an effort to do so.

“Liam, I found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you could hear me. I can’t help but selfishly think that there were still so many other conversations for us to have in life. I never got to thank you for supporting me in some of the hardest moments of my life,” Zayn wrote.

The singer wrote that Liam helped him through difficult times in the lives of young celebrities: “I was a 17 year old boy and I was missing home, you were always there with a positive outlook and a comforting smile and let me know you were my friend and that I was loved.”

“I can’t explain what I would do to give you one last hug, say goodbye to you properly and tell you that I loved and respected you so much,” Zayn wrote.

He described his friend as a sensitive young man, “stubborn, full of opinions and didn’t give a damn about telling people when they were wrong.”. “Even though we fought about it a few times, I always secretly respected you for that,” he said.

For him, Liam was the “most qualified in every way” member of One Direction, in relation to music: “I didn’t know anything in comparison, I was a new kid with no experience and you were already a professional”.

“You were always happy to know, no matter what happened on stage, we could always count on you to know which way to steer the ship next.”

Liam died at age 31 last Wednesday. He was found dead at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He traveled to the country on the 4th to watch his former bandmate Niall perform.